Tag: IoT

While Steve and I were on vacation, something very curious happened. As you know we’ve been getting more and more into Home Automation, adding connected devices with reckless abandon lately. One of our early devices was our Ring Video Doorbell. When we’re away, we find it comforting to watch the notifications when our Ring doorbell […]

Possible replacement for Clarify (but maybe we don’t need it), a clean install tip for iOS from Joop Bruggink, a second look at iPhone X after a bit more time, my attempt at Animoji Karaoke, Denise Crown brings us her review of the Hue Motion Sensor. Then we have an installment of Security Bits with […]

Notable News A report from the Norwegian Consumer Council finds that smart watches aimed at kids are a security and privacy train wreck — nakedsecurity.sophos.com/… The head of the IRS in the US tells reporters Americans should assume their identity has been stolen and act accordingly — nakedsecurity.sophos.com/… IRS freezes its fraud prevention contract with […]

I was on the inaugural episode of the Conversations of Things podcast with Joe Dugandzic. I’ll explain how to make photo albums with Apple Photos that people actually want to see (spoiler, it’s about keywords). I’ll challenge some assumptions Bart Busschots made in his Let’s Talk Photography podcast about subscription models for software. And Bart […]

This week I had the great honor of being on the very first episode of a new podcast called the Conversations of Things. Joe Dugandzic of Smarter Home Life is the host, and it’s going to be an interview show with tech people about the Internet of Things and Home Automation. Joe is such a […]

In my previous article I tried to give you the flavor of how to install the ecobee3 Smart Thermostat, and now let’s talk about how it actually works. But if after hearing more about it you feel tempted to buy one, don’t do it. My timing couldn’t be worse on this, because I just found […]

When I was in college, my roommate Sandy and I wanted to put up a hanging plant. Remember the 70s when macramé plant hangers were all the rage? If not, go ask your mom. Anyway, she said we should go get a boy to help us. I told her that if we couldn’t do it […]

We live in a pretty safe neighborhood, but we like to keep an eye on things around our house. As safe as the neighborhood is, we do know of cases where deliveries have been stolen from front doorsteps from time to time. You’ve probably heard about the Ring Video Doorbell that we reviewed last January. […]

Allison interviews Armen Gharabegian from Shadecraft about their new autonomous robotic shade called the Sunflower. This novel shade tracks the sun to keep a desired spot shaded throughout the day. The Sunflower connects you to the IoT and the smart home ecosystem from the outdoors. The Sunflower is solar powered and includes an integrated camera […]